The End
by Valie
Summary: In their seventh year, Neville has finally decided to reveal his love for Harry. However, an appearance of 'Scabbers' and Death Eaters, opens old wounds for Harry. Can love prevail despite this, or will Voldermolt interfere? [Chap. 2 up!]
1. This is Where it Begins

The End

[_Chap. 1 - This is Where it Begins_]

Sometimes we fall in love with celebrities because of their fame. Maybe because of their looks. However, Neville Longbottom fell for the Hogwarts' celebrity for reasons much deeper than fame and looks. The heroic Harry Potter had stolen his heart from the moment their eyes first met. To the often bullied Neville, Harry was kindness and sadness. Life and death. Love and pain. . . Everything that Neville had seen deep within his own soul, though he'd never admit it, not even to himself.

As their years at Hogwarts progressed and Harry and friends were pitied against many trials, Neville grew. His demeanor changed from a quiet, scared boy to a slightly braver, outspoken young man. In his seventh year, Neville now spoke more to his fellow Gryffindors. Still, he kept things about himself, namely his past, quiet. Every now and then, he spoke of the privacy of his past with Harry. Though only on quiet nights, long after the others had gone to bed.

Finally, they were now in the beginning of their last year at Hogwarts. The now leaner and less chubby Neville, woke up one late September morning knowing that today would be the day he would proclaim his love for Harry. Sitting up, he pulled back the drapes around his bed only to find that Harry had already arisen and had, most likely, gone down to breakfast. Disappointed, he clambered out of bed, his legs tangled in his blanket. Tripping, he fell face first out of bed and smashed to the cement floor. Luckily, he only obtained a small bump on his forehead, which was the intital point of impact.

Ten minutes later, dressed and full of his recently discovered bravo, Neville raced down the stairs in search of Harry. He knew if he didn't find him soon, eventually, his courage would dissipate. Under his new image, he was still that quiet boy who had stood up to his friends, very much reluctantly, back in their first year. 

Out in the halls, he had the misfortune of bumping into Crabbe and Goyle, Draco's former bodyguards. Former, as in, Draco disregarding everything Death Eater and Voldermolt in order to spite his father, with whom he had a severe falling out with the year before. Since Crabbe and Goyle's fathers were Death Eaters, he had rid himself of their service, saying he was fully able to fend for himself. Oddly, since then, Draco was more often than not in the company of fellow Slytherin, Pansy Parkinson. Spectulation was that they were dating. Many believed that the chicken was simply hiding behind Pansy now. Of course, 'many' being nearly all the students in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. . . 

Since then, the huge duo had been terrorizing almost any student they sought fit to. Feeling his courage rapidly vanishing, Neville attempted to squeeze past the two huge young men, or beasts, as he liked to think of them, as quickly as possible. They blocked his escape by pushing him against the wall and closing in around him, leaving barely enough room to breathe. While he had become braver, he had not become stupid. Any attempt to fight these two away would result in a guaranteed trip to the hospital wing. Especially since Neville had forgotten his wand in his haste to find Harry. And so, the brown-haired Neville remained as still as death.

"60 galleon to pass," Goyle sneered.

"I. . . I don't have any money," Neville gulped.

"Then a beating will be paid to you," Crabbe smirked, cracking his knuckles in anticipation. 

Closing his eyes, Neville thought of what a bad day this was slowly turning out to be. Just as he prepared for several fists to turn him into a slab of meat, someone behind the two beasts shouted, '_Immoblius_!' Instead of feeling the four fists attacking him, Neville felt, well, nothing. Blissful nothingness. Opening his eyes cautiously, the brown-haired young man stared at the motionless fists several millimeters from his face. Letting out a small yelp, Neville ducked beneath the fists and darted out of his prison.

"You all right? ," A familiar voice asked from above him.

Looking up slowly, Neville's face blushed as he came eye to eye with green eyes. Grabbing Harry's outstretched hand, which was surprisely soft despite his many ordeals, he nodded. Neville was greatly relieved that he had been saved from the beating but he couldn't look his rescuer in the eyes to thank him properly. He knew any eye contact now would result in Neville doing one of two things. One, blushing brighter than he already was and stuttering as he thanked Harry. Or two, kissing Harry until the other boy knew nothing but the tenderness of his kiss. So Neville opted for his third option.

Pretending to dust off his robe and not picking up his head, he thanked Harry in a low voice. Harry opened his mouth to say something but he stopped suddenly. There was a tense silence in the air that forced Neville to pick up his head. He looked at Harry, but only to follow the direction he was staring so intensely in. A familiar tattered looking rat watched them from the end of the corridor. When Neville noticed a piece of the rat's ear missing, his jaw dropped. "Scabbers. . . ? ," He breathed slowly, unable to move in fear of scaring the rat off.

Scabbers had been Ron Weasley's pet rat before it was revealed that 'Scabbers' was really an animagius by the name of Wormtail, who happened to be one of Voldermolt's faithful servants, as well as Harry's father's old friend. Before Neville knew what was happening, Harry sprinted toward the rat, who equally as fast, raced down a seperate corridor. Knowing that he should probably go get a professor, Neville instead chased after Harry. The two followed the rat until neither one could keep up with it any longer. Mainly because 'Scabbers' had managed to squeeze through a crack in the wall and disappeared completely before either of them could reach him. 

"Damn! ," Harry shouted as he examined the wall and crack, to no avail.

"What was Scabbers doing here? ," Neville asked as he watched Harry. "I thought he'd run off four years ago."

No one, except Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the professors, knew the truth about 'Scabbers'. Since the incident at the Ministry of Magic, none of them had spoken of Wormtail. Of course, that didn't mean they occasional didn't think of him. Take Ron for example, when he sees Croonshanks, he often wishes that he had let the nasty beast eat 'Scabbers'. Alot of grief could've been avoided by that simple act. In the end, all three knew no was to blame. How could there be anyone to blame? No one knew the truth about Wormtail except Sirius.

"It's like this, Neville. Scabbers was really an animagus by the name of Wormtail. He was my father's friend until he betrayed him and told Voldermolt where to find my parents," Harry said, falling to his knees in mixed frustration and sadness.

And now Neville knew the truth too.

"You mean he was the one who got your parents killed and you almost killed? ," Neville asked, pausing as Harry nodded. "I'm sorry, Harry. I didn't know."

Now he understood why Harry had gave chase when he saw Scabbers, er, Wormtail. Neville didn't know which name to call the rat. Harry got to his feet and knelt over to brush the dust off his robe. Biting his lip, Neville wondered if he should say what he had wanted to say or try to say something helpful. In the end, he decided that Harry needed a friend and not the confusion of a boy's sudden confession of love. 

"Why do you think he was here? ," Neville finally asked.

"Don't know. I reckon he was keeping an eye on me for Voldermolt."

"Harry. . .?"

"Yes?"

Harry met Neville's eyes as he waited for what Neville was going to say. In that single moment, Neville knew for a fact he shouldn't confess his heart. It just wasn't the right time. Smiling, Neville placed a hand on Harry's shoulder as he spoke. At the same time, enjoying the small contact he felt.

"Harry, I'll help you if anything happens. I swear." Neville dropped his hand down to his side.

Smiling back, Harry thanked him before turning and leaving. As Neville watched the messy haired young man walk away, he suddenly felt very cold and alone. 

* * *

If Neville had known as much as he thought he knew about Harry, perhaps Halloween wouldn't have bothered him so much. Not to get ahead of this part of the story, it began as a regular Hogwarts morning. Almost a month since Neville had bit his lip and swallowed the emotions that welled up when he saw Harry. Things had grown silent between the two since that day with Scabbers. Neville felt the hopelessness of not being able to help Harry with the sadness that he saw shine from his messy haired friend.

Shortly after lunch on Halloween, there was a trip to Hogsmeade. The air was nipping mercilessly at the students as they trekked across the school grounds, past the school's entrance and all the way down to Hogsmeade. Neville had decided to accompany Harry and Ron to Zonko's Joke Shop. Which was decorated with jack-o-lanterns that talked as you passed them! Unforunately, as they exited the store, several explosions rang from the direction of the long abandoned mansion. The one Remus Lupin had used as his monthly hideout in his youth. Harry and Ron exchanged curious looks before running to the mansion. Uncertain, Neville followed the duo.

Even from a distance, Neville could tell that what he was running into was dangerous. Two Death Eaters sent several more explosions at the abandoned mansion with the assistance of their wands. The mansion began to collaspe into itself as the explosions blew chunks of walls, plaster, and windows into oblivion. Bravely, Harry stopped twenty feet from the Death Eaters, whose faces were impossible to see due to the heavy hoods they wore. 

"Stop! You can't do that! ," Harry shouted angerily.

One of the Death Eaters turned toward Harry, and a rigid Ron, with a sneer. "Mind your business, brat. You've caused enough trouble for our master," He snarled, pointing his wand at Harry.

"I'll cause even more trouble for you if you don't stop."

"Such a nuisance you are! I can't understand why master hasn't properly disposed of you yet! ," The second Death Eater shouted, turning away from the now dilapitated mansion.

The Death Eaters raised their wands in preperation of quickly kill off Harry and whoever else dared get in their way. However, neither had suspected the "_Accio Wands!_" that came from the unseen brown haired young man named Neville. He had hid in the shadows of a nearby inn, out of the Death Eaters sight. Fearing the worst may happen, he quickly brought out his wand and performed one of the many spells he had learned from Harry in DADA. 

Stunned, the Death Eaters watched their wands float safely away from them and into Neville's outstretched hand. Realization struck them too late as Harry had casted a shield around them to prevent them from running at or away from anyone. Furious, one shouted curse words at Harry and the smiling Neville. Taking it a step further, Neville approached Harry, turned toward the enraged Death Eaters, and snapped their wands in half with a simple spell Hermione had taught him in their sixth year.

"Bloody hell to the lot of you! Master shall destroy you the next time you cross paths with him! ," The second Death Eater sneered.

"Tell your master, we'll be waiting," Harry smirked.

A sudden fog covered the two Death Eaters. When it vanished, so had they. Neville dropped the broken wands onto the ground, where they landed on soft ground without a sound. He turned to Harry with a smile on his face but it went unnoticed. Harry and Ron had moved past Neville and now stared helplessly as the abandoned mansion fell completely into a pile of nothing. While they both knew full well that Remus had been nowhere inside it, they still felt the emptiness of long ago memories. While it contained no actual emotional attachment, this abandoned mansion had represented the end of peace and the beginning of terror unseen for thirteen years. It had also represented the end of childhood, mainly for Harry, and the beginning of something deeper and scarier than adulthood.

These were things Neville had not known about Harry, yet understood them just as well. Well, if only he had known them at that moment. 

"Harry. . . ? ," Neville asked quietly, noticing the distress on his friend's face.

"Leave me."

"But. . . !"

Harry pushed past the slightly shorter brown-haired young man, as he ran away from what he had just seen. Away from the now emotionally bruised and confused young man who loved him without his knowledge. Turning to Ron, Neville knew he would get no answers from him either. The tall red head had tears in his eyes that he fought desperately to hold back. Neville felt a shroud of darkness wrap around him as he tried to understand what had been so important about this abandoned mansion. In the end, he was exactly where he had been an hour ago when it came to the depths of Harry's emotions, completely lost and in the dark. 

* * *

"Harry? ," Neville whispered into the dimly lit common room.

Near the fire, Harry slumped further into the chair he was occupying, in hopes he could somehow blend into it and not be seen. As it was, that wasn't something that was bound to happen, possibly, ever. In the silence of two in the morning, Neville hesistantly claimed the chair across from his friend. This was the first time Neville had seen Harry since the incident back at Hogsmeade. The messy haired young man had missed the last Halloween dinner he was to ever spend at Hogwarts. Even a pale looking Ron had managed to wolf down a plate of food before running off with a concerned Hermione behind him.

"Harry."

The messy haired young man refuse to meet Neville's eyes at the sound of his name.

"Please say something, Harry."

Again, he recieved no reply.

"Harry, I told you I would help you no matter what. But it's impossible if you won't even tell me what's on your mind," Neville said in an oddly soothing way.

"There's nothing on my mind," Harry finally said, a sharpness to his tone.

Frowning, Neville stood up from the seat he had been in and walked up to Harry. Kneeling down, he nervously claimed Harry's chin with his left hand. The messy haired young man remained silent as Neville forced him to meet his eyes. 

"The Harry Potter I know, is not a liar. He'd tell me what was on his mind, even if the absolute truth was nothing at all. He wouldn't lie because he's not a coward," Neville said firmly, though his voice quivered slightly at the end. "That's not the Harry Potter who I fell in love with." Neville added the last part in a low voice, but the boy-who-had-lived had heard him as clear as a bell.

"You what? ," Harry asked in a low voice. His eyes had widen and his breathing had become oddly shallow.

Realizing what he had said, Neville quickly pulled back his hand and stood up. "Nothing. Forget it," He mumbled before making a dash up the stairs to the bedroom he shared with Harry, Ron, Dean, and Seamus. Throwing himself into bed, he pulled the drapery around his bed closed and burrowed his face into his pillow. As harsh tears flowed from his eyes, Neville heard the door open. Knowing full well it was Harry, he remained silent, struggling to choke back the tears. Footsteps approached his bed, stopping short of the drapery.

"Neville? ," Harry whispered.

No reply. Then Neville heard Harry move away to his own bed. Silent tears still fell from the brown eyed young man as he eventually cried himself to sleep. In Harry's bed, silent tears carried the green eyed young man to sleep.

* * *

Several nights later and hours wasted upon avoiding him, Neville was awoken by a soft poke in his back. Grumbling, he turned over to see Harry's thin frame silhoutetted next to his bed. His first reaction was to hide his head under his pillow but even in the pale moonlight, Neville could see the urgency on Harry's face. So he got out of bed and followed the messy haired young man down to the common room, which was empty at this late hour. Neville and Harry claimed the chairs by the fire that they had several nights ago. It was strange for Neville seeing Harry. He had felt he had completely destroyed any possible hope for romance that Neville had hoped existed. Now these two young men were staring quietly at the fire in an uncomfortable silence.

"Remember in our third year, we had Professor Lupin as our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? ," Harry finally said.

"The bloke that was a werewolf? ," Neville asked, remembering how terrified his grandmother had been for his safety back then. Harry nodded. "Best professor I can remember for that class! ," He cheerfully replied.

And so Harry told Neville everything about Professor Lupin and Sirius Black and the Order of the Phoenix. Everything that Harry had gone through, yet only a limited amount of people knew, he told Neville that night. Whether or not Neville believed what he was saying, the boy-who-had-lived continued his story until Neville knew everything. In the end, the brown haired young man sat in awe at what he had just heard. Harry's gaze returned to the fire as he let Neville digest everything he had just heard.

"Harry, if all that's true, then why did you tell it to me? ," Neville finally asked curiously.

"You were right, and wrong, the other night. You said I was a liar and a coward. Even though I didn't mean to be, I was exactly that. So now I've told you the truth and now I'll prove I am not a coward," Harry said as he stood up from his seat and moved silently toward a suddenly nervous Neville.

Years of being bullied had caused Neville to flinch whenever someone approached him. He might've done that just then if it hadn't been for the immense anticipation of Harry being so close to him. A little piece of him did fear that the boy-who-had-lived might've killed him on the spot because he knew all his secrets. Yet, another, larger, piece of him knew that wasn't the case. The green-eyed young man bent over toward Neville and placed a small kiss on his lips.

A sudden overwhelming joy flooded Neville and he began to cry. He felt Harry's arms wrap themselves around his shoulders. The tenderness of the hug eased him and he felt sleepy. 

"Harry, why?"

"Sometimes love is blind. However, anything between us remains secret." Harry caught Neville's eyes. "For our safety. More so, your safety."

Neville smiled and nodded. This was the greatest moment in the brown haired young man's life. 

Unforunately, it was to be short lived. . . 

*To be continued*

  



	2. Somehow, This is Where They Arrived

The End

[_Chap. 2 - Somehow, This is Where They Arrived_]

The fast approaching Christmas break was ultimately weighing heavily on Neville. He had yet missed a Christmas with his grandmother. However, he couldn't just as well as blow her off and stay with Harry, where it would be spent either in the school or at the Burrow. After factoring in his annual visit to his parents at St. Mungo's Hospital and Harry's agreement to go with him, Neville finally sent an owl to his grandmother. He received a howler several days later from her, questioning whether or not he'd lost his mind. For the first time in Neville's life, he couldn't have been more sure of a decision he'd made, and sent another owl saying so. The next howler he received from his grandmother, Harry had taken and shoved into a wastebasket where it exploded five minutes later. Due to the amount of trash surrounding it, the shrieking voice of Neville's grandmother was muffled considerably. Though the brown haired young man still managed to hear the words 'bloody ingrate', which forced a nervous gulp down his throat.

"No worries," Harry had said with a smile.

Nodding, Neville flushed red before he and Harry disappeared from the Gryffindor common room and the prying eyes of three curious second years. That had been four days ago, now Neville woke up Christmas morning with a certain grungy looking cat staring down at him. With a smile he petted Croonshanks awkwardly before sitting up and stretching. Never in his life had he remembered spending time filled with the warmth that the Weasley's home contained. Yes, it was crowded with all the people that had decided to spend the holiday at the Burrow, but that in itself was greater proof of the love that filled the house. 

Standing up from his knapsack on the floor, Neville stretched again and surveyed his surroundings for the thousandth time since he arrived at the Burrow two days ago. Due to lack of sleeping space, he had volunteered to sleep on the floor of Ron's room. Ron also slept on the floor as he had given his bed to Harry. Ron's brothers, Fred and George had also decided to spend the holidays at home and each slept in their respected beds. Downstairs in the den, Bill, who had arrived late the previous night, slept on the couch. Charlie and Percy had been the only Weasleys not to come to the Burrow. Percy for obvious reasons and Charlie had been delayed by a pregnant dragon who was due anytime now. 

Hermione had come along, unwilling to spend what might be their last Christmas together, at home. She was sleeping in Ginny's room now, along with of course Ginny and strangely, Luna Lovegood. No one was really sure why the spacey blonde was at the Burrow. Supposedly, Ginny had invited her after word that Luna's father would be off verifying if Kulamos were really living in Iceland. Kulamos were of course another one of the many fictionist creatures Mr. Lovegood and Luna believed were real. Now, why Luna hadn't gone with him was still beyond Neville's understanding. And as he crept out of the room to the bathroom, it wasn't something that he was really interested in at the moment.

Except when he reached the bathroom and pushed the door open, he got more than what he bargained for. Inside, Ginny sat atop the sink's edge as Luna stood before her with her mouth very much on the red head's mouth. While they were clad in nothing but their pajamas, wandering hands were quickly pulled out of places they should not have been as they both looked at Neville with wide eyes. Unsure of what to do, he stood there stupidly as Ginny quickly stood and straightened her night gown. The trio remained in a disturbing silence for a long while before they heard someone coming down the stairs. Frantically, Ginny and Luna scrabbled past Neville in an attempt to escape before anyone else found them. Opening his mouth, Neville wasn't able to speak a word to them as they disappeared around the corner and the mystery person appeared behind him.

"Happy Christmas," Harry said, pulling off his glasses and cleaning them with the bottom of his shirt.

"Happy Christmas, love," Neville smiled, knowing that any sign of affection made Harry jumpy when they were so many people nearby.

"Neville, not here."

Harry had that worried look in his eyes but that didn't stop the brown-haired young man from taking his boyfriend's glasses from his hand. Squinting, Harry reached out a hand in order to get them back, to no avail. He was nearly blind without his glasses and Neville knew it. That was why Neville took the opportunity to place a loving kiss on Harry's lips before he placed he glasses in the messy haired young man's hand. Replacing his glasses with a deep blush, Harry watched his boyfriend wink at him before disappearing into the bathroom.

* * *

While Christmas day was spent peacefully at the Burrow, things were anything but at the Ministry of Magic. A recent report had just reached Ministry officials' hands. Words were shouted in unison as people scrambled to and fro preparing to leave. In the midst of all this, Percy Weasley finally was able to read the report, only to have it slip out of his hands as he bolted up from his seat. Hesitantly, he grabbed some floo powder and scowled slightly. With a heavy gulp, Percy swallowed his pride and tossed the powder into the flames of his fireplace. Taking a seat in front the now green flames, he crossed his arms and shouted, "_The Burrow!_" before sticking his head into the flames.

Meanwhile, at the Burrow, Arthur Weasley had just sat down in front of the fireplace. In his right hand he held a warm mug of butterbeer. The family had just finished dinner and most of them were also joining Mr. Weasley in the den. Suddenly, the flames became green and Percy's eerily, seemingly decapitated head appeared in the flames. Arthur Weasley choked on the butterbeer that he had just taken a sip of and dropped the mug onto the floor in surprise. Mrs. Weasley, who had just walked into the room began crying at the sight of her son.

"I have important information for you all," Percy's disembodied head said without any kind of emotion or consideration as to what he had just done. "The ministry has received word that Death Eaters have been spotted in your area and it's believed they might be heading for the Burrow."

Bill sprang up from his seat by the window. "What? They're heading here?"

"What's the miracle you've shared this information with us? ," Ron said angrily. The now very tall red head had never forgiven the betrayal his brother had done to the family.

"There was no order that I was not allowed to share this information with you. Therefore, I saw it fit to inform you personally before anything negative was to happen. I must go now."

Percy's head disappeared from the fire with a pop that brought Ginny, Luna, and the twins into the den. Fred walked in first, only to catch his mother who had just fainted. Upon seeing this, George poked her arm. "What happened? Either Charlie got eaten by a dragon or Percy was at the fire," He joked, looking up from his mother. Hermione quickly filled them in as Ron shook his father to snap him out of his still shocked state. Bill chewed his lip for a moment before taking charge.

"Everyone, whether or not he told the truth is a risk we mustn't take. I suggest we all get out of here just in case," He said, grabbing the pot of floo powder from the table by the fireplace.

No one moved as Mrs. Weasley slowly came to. 

"Come on! It'd be best safe then sorry! ," Ginny finally spoke up and everyone seemed to agree.

"We'll go to Diagon Alley," Fred said.

"Yeah, we can be safe at the shop! ," George said.

"The young ones go first then," Mrs. Weasley said, snapping back to her motherly duties. "Ginny will go first, so she can lead the way to the shop, followed by Luna. Then Hermione, Neville, Harry, and Ron will go. The rest of us will follow." She smiled.

Ginny would've protested, but her mother placed a kiss on her forehead and gave her a hug. Glancing briefly at Luna and giving her a small nod, Ginny stepped up to her eldest brother and grabbed some floo powder from the pot.

"Diagon Alley! ," She said in a loud voice before throwing the powder into the fire and stepping into the green flames.

Luna quickly followed, as did Hermione with an oddly calm Croonshanks in her arms. However, as Neville reached for a handful of floo powder, an earth shattering explosion came from outside the door. Running to the window, Harry saw that several darkly robed figures were walking straight toward the Burrow. On the way, they blew up whatever seemed to be in their way. Whether it was a tree or flower, it was blown to pieces by the flick of a wand. The loud explosion had been caused by the explosion of Arthur's recently acquired muggle car. 

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley quickly pulled out their wands and made a beeline for the door in order to stall off the Death Eaters. Harry, Neville and Ron began to pull out their wands in order to help but Bill stopped them. 

"No. Mum and dad are willing to hold them off in order for you three to get to safety. Just go and don't worry," He said in a stern voice.

Knowing how stubborn his brother was, Bill through a handful of floo powder into the fire and shouted 'Diagon Alley', before grabbing Ron and almost tossing him head first into the fire. "Sorry, mate," He said as he waved goodbye to his confused little brother. Turning toward Harry and Neville, he smirked. "Don't tell me I'll have to toss you two lads into the fire as well."

Grabbing floo powder, Harry sighed and said his goodbyes to Bill. As he was about to throw the powder, a woman's scream made him stop in his tracks. Turning around, they could see that one of the Death Eaters had made it past Mr. Weasley and was now about to place a forbidden curse on Mrs. Weasley. Fred and George came to the rescue, each shouting, "_Impedimenta!_" at the Death Eater and knocking it against the wall with a sickening crunch. 

"Harry, go! ," Neville suddenly said, pushing his boyfriend toward the fire place.

"What about you? ," Harry asked, feeling panic-stricken.

"I'll be right behind you. Go!"

Tearfully, Harry tossed the powder, stated his destination and disappeared through the green flames. 

"Hey, Longbottom! ," Fred said. "Take the key to the shop. If George and I don't come through right away, go to the shop and hide there."

Neville nodded and took the key just as another Death Eater forced his way into the house. He shouted the Crucio curse at the twins before they could lift their wands. Terrified, Neville grabbed a handful of floo powder from the pot that now lay on the floor where Bill had dropped it when the second intruder entered, and threw it into the fire. Somehow he managed to speak his destination as a third intruder entered the house and now fought with Bill. Stepping through the fire, he felt the familiar dizziness associated with traveling via floo powder. Then he was tumbling out of a fireplace in tears.

Rushing to him, Harry wrapped his arms around him and asked him what had happened. Coughing from the soot taste in his mouth, Neville held up the key and told the others what Fred had said. Standing in the main area of a shop in Diagon Alley, they waited impatiently to see if anyone else would come through the fire. However, no one did and they left reluctantly so the shopkeeper wouldn't become suspicious. Slumping behind the counter of the twins' joke shop, Neville filled the rest of his friends in on what happened after Harry left.

"Do you think they're all right? No one else came through the fireplace, so did something bad happen? ," Ron asked in a small voice.

Ginny hugged her brother in an attempt to comfort him, but it was clear that the tall red was scared beyond reason. Hours later, as the sun just began to rise in the horizon just as most of them had begun to finally fall asleep, the door of the shop clanged open. Peering over the counter, they were relieved to see George and Bill enter. However, there was a strange air of silence amongst the two. Even stranger was seeing George without Fred. 

"Where's mum, dad, and Fred? ," Ginny asked fearfully, throwing herself into Bill's arms. "What happened to the Death Eaters?"

Neither brother spoke for a long time. Finally, Bill cleared his throat.

"Dad's dead," He said slowly, as if it were news to him as well. "I'm not sure what happened to mum or Fred. They were unconscious and bloody pretty badly when the Death Eaters carried them off."

At that point, George let out a choked sob and fell to his knees on the floor. Ron was quick to fall to his knees as well, wiping savagely at the tears that spilled down his face. The others wiped at their tears as well. 

"How'd you get away? ," Neville asked.

"After you left, I disabled the Death Eater I was fighting. Dad called out for me to send an owl to Charlie. I don't know why he wanted me to do that with all that was going on, but he said it again. So I ran upstairs and scribbled a quick message to Charlie telling him that to come to here as soon as possible. I sent it with Ron's owl, who nearly knocked over his cage in excitement. I wasn't gone longer than five minutes.

"When I came back downstairs, I saw mum bloody near the door. George was protecting Fred from a Death Eater and dad was outside with two of those bastards. I figured I'd get mum out of there while the others were occupied, but the one that Fred and George had knocked out earlier came to and grabbed mum from me. The one fighting with George cast another Crucio curse on him and as he was screaming in pain on the floor, the bastard grabbed Fred. They turned tail and ran. I went after them but the two outside pointed their wands at me and . . . ," Bill paused, tears welling up in his eyes.

"They yelled out Aveda Kedava but dad jumped in the way and took the full blunt of the curse," George finished sadly.

"Yes. After that, they disappeared in a cloud of mist. I sent a letter to Dumbledore with Hedwig just as the Ministry pulled up to the house. We decided to leave before anyone asked questions. I reckon they were somehow behind the whole mess," The eldest Weasley finished with a small scowl.

"So what are we supposed to do now? Wait around until they come here and find us? This is because they're after me and I'm sorry for what's happened because of me," Harry said, a visible anger in his words.

"Nothing is your fault, Harry," Bill said.

"That's a lie and you know it, Bill. If I'd stayed at Hogwarts, then this could have all been avoided."

Neville grabbed a hold of Harry's arms.

"You don't know that for sure. We can't jump to conclusions just yet," Neville said, worriedly.

Harry jerked away from Neville's grasp.

"No, you don't know that! I do. That's the story of my life! Everyone thinks they know but they don't. They say it isn't my fault but it is. It's my fault that Voldermolt was able to regain his body. It's my fault that so many have died needlessly because of me. You don't know what it's like! ," Harry was shouting at Neville.

Something deep down in Neville snapped. Somewhere deep down in the brown-haired young man's soul, an unspeakable cry erupted and tore past his soul. It rushed through his whole being and forced Neville's hand to swing forward where it connected with his boyfriend's cheek. Not only did it take Harry and Neville by surprise, but everyone in the room felt the intensity of the raw emotion that had fueled the slap.

Then it all seemed to crash down on Neville, as quickly as it had engulfed him, it had spit him out. Neville Longbottom forgot who was around them and could only see Harry's stunned face. Tears spilled down his face as he pulled Harry toward him. His lips met surprised ones in a desperate kiss. For some reason, Harry could feel all of the despair and trouble that Neville kept hidden. While he couldn't understand all of it, the messy haired young man knew he had hurt Neville. That was something he felt strongly, though again, he couldn't understand why. 

A heavy silence had filled the room as all eyes watched the couple. This was the first time anyone had witnessed the two kiss. Even more surprising to some was that until that moment, no had suspected any of what they were seeing. And what they saw was the love and betrayal of two young men, nothing more or less. While the others averted their eyes and coughed uneasily, minus three pairs of curious female eyes, Harry breathed a muffled apology through the kiss. Neville pulled away slowly, only looking down at Harry's chest at the realization of what had just transpired.

"We have to get out of here," Bill finally spoke up, hoping to divert the moment to something more important.

"Wouldn't it be wise to wait for Dumbledore's letter? ," Hermione asked without taking her eyes off the two brunettes in front of her.

"No. If or when the ministry of magic will show up here, I suspect we would somehow be excused of dad's death," Bill said with a frown.

"What makes you say that, Bill? ," Ron asked.

The eldest Weasley brother bit his lip and shook his head, his earring swaying to and fro on his ear. "Now is not the time for reasons or theories. My responsibility lies in keeping you all safe."

"I take it we'll be heading for Sirius' old house then? ," George asked as he moved to the back of the store and disappeared through a door to the back room. He reappeared with six broomsticks within seconds. "Sorry, but these are the only brooms that aren't jinxed," He said motioning toward a display of broomsticks near a sign that read 'Splinting Brooms'.

"But there's seven of us, one of us will have to find another means of transportation," Ron said, stepping up to his brother and claiming a broom as if to say it wouldn't be him.

"Luna and I are the lightest, we could share one," Ginny spoke up and smiled at Luna, who nodded in agreement.

Charlie nodded his approval and handed a broom to his sister, then passed out the rest. It wasn't long before they were all flying above the clouds toward London. Except, they weren't alone. They hadn't been alone since from the moment they arrived at Diagon Alley. A close but safe distance away, someone was following and watching. This someone was the main cause behind all their pain and he was smiling wickedly as they approached the Order's headquarters.

*To be continued*


End file.
